Page 23 of From the Ashes

“I have to go. Can you send me an email with anything else you have?”

I barely wait for his agreement before I end the call and drop the phone to the desk.

“Any sign of him?” he asks as he stalks further into the room, dropping down into the seat across from me.

I shake my head. “No, he’s gone back underground, it seems.”

“Probably smart. He knows what Kovu is capable of, and if he’s been watching for a while, he’ll know how attached he is to Camilla.”

“Was Wyatt able to see whether Caleb had tapped into any of the camera feeds?” I ask, my stomach rolling at the thought. It’s bad enough thinking that he could have been in the compound at any point in the last three years, but the idea that he could have been watching not only us but Camilla as well…fuck.

Crew shakes his head. “He’s not sure. The camera feeds run on a different system to the security itself, and it doesn’t log which one of us is watching or when, but to be safe, he’s reset the access so only Wyatt and the four of us will have the new log-on details.” His eyes flick to the open door before he leans forward on his elbows. “We need to talk about Kaos.”

“What about him?”

“He doesn’t want to believe that his father could be involved in all this, even if it seems obvious to the rest of us. Which means if push comes to shove and Caleb continues to threaten us and Camilla, we may have to make the decision to take him out. Even if Kaos isn’t going to like it.”

I rub my hand down my face. This isn’t us. This isn’t what we do. We’ve always made our decisions together. Going behind his back to kill his dad seems extreme even for us, and like something Kaos will struggle to forgive us for.

“We may not have a choice, Bishop. If it comes down to him or one of us or Camilla, I know what decision I’m going to make every single time.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I just wish we didn’t have to go behind his back with it.”

“He’ll come around,” Crew assures me, but I’m not so sure. Each of us is headstrong, and it’s hard to make any of us change our minds about something.

And truthfully, if I put myself in Kaos’s shoes and it was my father we were accusing of trying to overthrow the Syndicate and kill our girlfriend, I’d find it more than a little difficult to accept it.

It feels like time is tearing us apart, and I just hope we’re strong enough to make it out the other side intact.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

KAOS

The more time I have to think, the less it makes sense.

Why would my father try to tear apart everything he helped to build?

He and Crew worked so hard to get us to the top while the three of us finished high school. They climbed the ladder, they did the dirty work, they begged, borrowed, and stole to make sure we were fed while they did everything in their power to make it to the top. So why would he betray us?

I have to admit, it’s pretty fucking damning that he faked his own death. There has to be a reason he kept himself hidden for the last three years, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out what the reason is.

And why would he want to hurt Camilla?

That’s the other part I can’t quite make sense of. She hasn’t done anything to him, nor has the De Marco family in general, as far as I’m aware, so why would he want to see her dead unless it’s to hurt us?

And if what she said is true, that the first time she met him was at Davenport’s penthouse, why would he know he’s alive, but we wouldn’t? To me, that seems like maybe the others are onto something, even if I don’t want to acknowledge it.

My phone vibrates across my desk, and I stare at it for long seconds before I reach for it. I don’t spend much time in my office, but because of that, this is the last place they’ll come looking for me, and right now I need to be on my own. I need time to think through everything we know and figure out where I stand on this situation.

When my eyes lock on the screen, my stomach sinks. The sight of No Caller ID could be any number of people, but the hope that it’s Camilla meets the worry that it’s my dad.

The text sits unread for long moments before I reach for it.

Unknown: We need to meet.

Kaos: Who is this?

Unknown: I’ll be at the park near the old apartment at 7 p.m. Come alone.

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